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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27229882">Home Is Where My Horse Is</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/localspacelesbian/pseuds/localspacelesbian'>localspacelesbian</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Julie and The Phantoms (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Found Family, Gen, Takes place post-show, cowboy reggie, kind of angst but also kind of fluff, reggie finds his parents</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 21:27:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,582</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27229882</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/localspacelesbian/pseuds/localspacelesbian</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Reggie decides to go looking for his family.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alex &amp; Julie Molina &amp; Luke Patterson &amp; Reggie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>178</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Home Is Where My Horse Is</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Reggie sat looking out at the ocean, his back to the neighborhood where his parents’ house once stood. Somehow, he wasn't surprised when he heard the familiar sound of a ghost appearing next to him. He didn't have to look up to know who it was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought I might find you here,” Alex said as he sat down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reggie just rested his head on Alex’s shoulder, and Alex just put his arm around him. The two sat in a comfortable silence for a while before Reggie finally spoke. “I know Luke says it doesn’t matter because none of us were close to our families…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But that hasn’t stopped him from visiting his own parents nearly every day.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah…” Reggie sighed. He knew things with Luke’s parents were… complicated, but still…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He can be a bit of a hypocrite,” Alex said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reggie just nodded his head against Alex’s shoulder. After a pause, he asked, “Is it bad that I want to find my parents? Even though… you know…” They were kind of the worst.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course not. I get it.” Alex’s parents were kind of the worst too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reggie lifted his head to look at his friend. “Have you…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alex shook his head and then looked down. “I think I’m scared of what I’ll find.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reggie look back out at the sea. “Yeah…” After a minute, he looked back at Alex and asked, “Would you come with me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“To find your parents?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reggie nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alex gave him a small smile. “Yeah man, of course.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reggie stood up and held out his hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, right now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reggie just shrugged. He knew he needed to do this now before he lost his nerve, and he thought he had an idea of where to start.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alex took his hand and stood up. “Where are we going?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Home.” He took Alex’s hand in his, and they poofed away together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reggie found himself face to face with a horse and felt Alex stumble backward next to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where are we?” Alex looked around frantically. “And what’s that smell?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reggie grinned as he turned back to the horse. “That’s the smell of money.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reggie just shrugged as he reached out his hand toward the and wondered if it could see him. “That’s what my granddad used to say.” He managed to pet the horse and smiled widely when it didn’t seem bothered. He glanced back at Alex, who still looked confused. “This is, or maybe was, my grandparents’ ranch. I grew up here. You know, before I moved to the city.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alex nodded slowly. “Right.” He looked over, and Reggie followed his gaze to the familiar old house that still stood there. It had been painted since he had last seen it, but not recently. Twenty-five years really was a long time. “Do you think they’re still here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reggie shrugged, gave the horse one last pat, and started walking toward the house. There was only one way to find out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ok.” Alex followed him, grumbling slightly about the smell.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reggie stopped in front of the door. He had no idea what awaited him on the other side. Alex took his hand again and gave him a comforting smile. Reggie took a deep breath (even though he didn't think he actually needed to breathe anymore). Together, they walked through the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reggie felt his nonexistent breath catch in his throat as he looked around. So much had changed in the decades since he’d last set foot in the house, and yet so much was still the same. There were three people in the kitchen when they walked in. There was a man who looked a few years older than Reggie cutting vegetables at the counter and two women standing at the stove, one old enough to be his mom and the other the same age as the man and visibly pregnant. Reggie deflated. He had no idea who these people were. He could practically feel the sympathetic look Alex was giving him, but he didn't bother turning to look.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then, he heard a door open. He turned and saw another woman come out of the bathroom. His eyes widened, and Alex turned to see what he was looking at. It was his mom. She was 25 years older than the last time he'd seen her, but there was no mistaking her. And even with the familiar look of exasperation on her face, she looked happier than he'd seen in years. Maybe ever.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For a second, Reggie thought she was looking at him, but then her gaze went right through him as she sighed and approached the group in the kitchen. "Chloe!" The pregnant woman turned to face her. "You’re supposed to be resting. You're about to pop a baby out any day now."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Sheryl… I'm fine."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reggie's mom took the wooden spoon out of Chloe's hand and used it to point at the kitchen table. "Sit down."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chloe sighed and did as she was told, sitting in the nearest chair. She and the man shared a look before Sharyl turned to him and the other woman. "And what about you two? Letting her overexert herself like this?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I was just stirring the-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sheryl shut Chloe up with a look before turning back to the other two, who both put their hands up in sync.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I tried. She wouldn’t listen to me," the woman defended.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And I didn't think you raised me to tell women what to do," the man said. Lisa looked like she was holding back a smile at that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sheryl gestured toward his cutting board. "Bradley, why don’t you go set the table?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded and turned toward the same cabinet that had held plates when Reggie was a child. Reggie could see him rolling his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And don't roll your eyes at me, young man."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"How does she always know?" Reggie asked Alex, who just shrugged in response.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chloe laughed as Bradley started setting the table, and he leaned down to kiss her. “I love your moms, but…” she started, quiet enough that Reggie had to strain a bit to hear her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s just worried about you. It’s sweet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pat him on the arm and shook her head as he got back to setting the table.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That’s when her words hit both Reggie and Alex at the same time. They looked at each other, and Alex asked, “Did she just say ‘moms?’”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reggie looked back at the family. “Woah.” He felt… Surprised? But maybe not that surprised. At least not that his parents weren’t together anymore. A part of him wondered what happened to his dad, but another part of him didn’t really care. He gestured with his head to the doorway that led to the living room. Alex nodded and followed him to the other room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reggie looked around. The room had been rearranged. There was new furniture, a new tv, new pictures of his mom’s new family. He looked out the window and saw the swingset that had been old even when he’d been a kid. At least some things never changed. Though perhaps that was one thing that should, for his soon-to-be niece or nephew’s sake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Reg?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reggie turned to see Alex looking at something on the fireplace mantle. An urn. He felt queasy as he took a step forward. Next to it was a picture in a small frame. Him as a child, drowning in his granddad’s red flannel and cowboy boots, a cowboy hat falling down over his eyes, so the only visible part of his face was his huge grin as he played a banjo.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reggie wasn’t sure if Alex was asking about the urn or the picture. He just nodded slowly, suddenly feeling overwhelmed by everything. He really didn’t want to be here anymore. Alex took his hand, and he felt the familiar tingling sensation that came with teleportation. They popped into the studio, and Reggie barely processed Luke and Julie hopping up from the piano bench and looking over at him in concern.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He reached for the sleeves of his flannel and started to panic when they weren’t there. He felt Alex lead him over the couch, and the next thing he knew, he was surrounded by his friends. He felt someone put his flannel in his hands, someone running their hand through his hair, someone put their arm around him, someone put their hand on on his knee. He focused on his friends and let them bring him back to earth, out of that house. Tried to get the image of his own ashes staring back at him and focus on his friends around him instead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eventually, Julie came into focus in front of him, looking at him in concern and rubbing her thumb over his knee. He leaned into Alex and felt Luke lean onto him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened?” Julie asked, glancing between Reggie and Alex.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reggie looked up at Alex, silently asking him to answer for him. “We, um, we found his mom.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luke looked at him in surprise. “Oh.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reggie nodded. “She’s remarried.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, that’s not so bad, is it?” Julie asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reggie shook his head. “No, I’m happy for her. Her wife seems nice. And I’m gonna be an uncle.” He made a noise that was halfway between a laugh and a scoff. Alex squeezed his hand. “It’s just weird that she has this whole new family, you know?” Not that he wanted his parents to have spent the last 25 years being miserable. He’d seen what that had done to Luke. But this… was just a lot to handle. Not to mention… “And, um…” He looked at Alex again, unable to get the words out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We, um…” Alex glanced around at the other three, looked down, and took a deep breath. “We saw Reggie.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” Luke asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Julie looked horrified. “Like…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like my ashes,” Reggie finished, staring intently down at the flannel in his hands as he turned it over and over again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The silence that followed was deafening.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Reggie…” Julie said quietly, reaching forward to take his hand in hers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reggie moved to lay down with head in Luke's lap and his feet in Alex’s. He felt Luke's hand run through his hair and Alex’s rest on his legs. He took a shaky breath. "It's just… We died."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, dude. We're ghosts." Reggie saw Julie shoot Alex a glare. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I know we're ghosts." He had finally gotten used to that but somehow it hadn't really sunk in until today that they had actually died. "But we </span>
  <em>
    <span>died</span>
  </em>
  <span>. We died, and my body was cremated, and now my ashes are in an urn sitting on the mantle in the same room my granddad taught me how to play the banjo. The last time I saw my mom happy was when we were living on that ranch with my grandparents. And now she's back there with her new family, happier than I've ever seen her. And it’s because I died…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Julie squeezed his hand. "Hey, no, your mom isn't happy because you're dead."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Isn't she though?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Reggie, listen to me. The way your parents treated you while you were alive is not ok. They should have seen how much their fighting was hurting you and gotten a divorce a long time ago. The fact that it took you dying for them to finally go through with it is unbelievably messed up. And none of it is your fault, ok?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And hey, you wouldn't blame me for moving on and being happy after my mom died, right?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Of course not." The very idea was ridiculous.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She smiled at him, squeezing his hand again. "Your mom has had 25 years to mourn you. She's allowed to move on. It doesn't mean she doesn't miss you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded. He supposed she had a point.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Besides, she's not the only one who's found a new family and is happier now, right?" She glanced up at the other two boys, and Reggie nodded again, smiling now. "You know we all love you, right?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah." He did. He really did. Even if sometimes his brain didn’t want him to believe it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Good." She leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. “Why don’t you get some sleep?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ghosts don’t need sleep,” he protested, even as it hit him how exhausted he was and he snuggled deeper into Luke’s lap.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When he woke up, they were tangled together on the couch that was much too small for three people. The other two were still asleep, so he carefully removed himself from the cuddle pile. Luke and Alex moved, and he was worried he’d woken them, but they just cuddled up closer to each other. He smiled softly at them before poofing away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once again, he found himself face to face with a horse. The same horse from the day before that he was sure had been able to see him. He reached out to pet her and glanced over at the house. It was still dark out, and the lights were off. He wasn’t really sure why he decided to come back here. He didn’t want to go back in that house, at least not any time soon, but he found himself still drawn here to the ranch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He walked around for a while, making his way toward the crik he used to play in as a kid. He walked along it until he got the tree he’d climbed so many times he could do it in his sleep. He plopped down on the ground, sitting with his back to the tree, pulling his legs up, wrapping his arms around them, and watching the water.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a while, the sun started to rise, his mind started to race again, and he started to get restless. But he wasn’t ready to go back. He summoned his acoustic guitar (ok, Luke’s guitar, but Reggie was the only other person allowed to use it), and he started playing a song he’d been working on for a while now.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Home, what is it really?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Sometimes it’s a someone and not a place,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It’s that feeling of being safe,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It’s about who you’re with at the end of the day…</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When he finished the song, he he looked up and was shocked to see Luke and Alex standing there, looking equally shocked. “What are you doing here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alex recovered first. “You weren’t there when we woke up. I thought maybe you’d be here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reggie nodded, blushing slightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you write that?” Luke asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reggie just nodded again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really good,” Alex added.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought you hated country music.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luke rubbed the back of his neck. “I do. But I guess I never actually looked at your songs before. I’m sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reggie shrugged. “It’s fine. If I really wanted you to, I should have actually told you instead of just joking about it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alex sat down in front of him, and Luke followed suit. “Why didn’t you?” Alex asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reggie shrugged again. “I guess if it was just a joke, it wouldn’t suck so much if you didn’t like it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Reggie…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, we just kind of showed up toward the end of your song,” Alex said. “Could you play it again from the beginning?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?” He looked between his two friends to see them both smiling at him. Luke nodded, and Reggie repositioned the guitar in his hands to start the song again.</span>
</p>
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